Figure A
Wage growth has stabilized as the labor market returns to pre-pandemic composition: Year-over-year wage changes, alternative measures, 2018–2022
| Year-over-year | Employment cost index (ECI) | Hourly compensation | Average hourly earning (all employees) | Average hourly earning (production and non-supervisory employees) | Composition-adjusted average hourly earnings (all employees) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-03-01 | 3.0% | 4.3% | 3.4% | 3.5% | 3.4% |
| 2019-06-01 | 3.0% | 4.2% | 3.3% | 3.5% | 3.3% |
| 2019-09-01 | 3.0% | 3.0% | 3.3% | 3.7% | 3.3% |
| 2019-12-01 | 3.0% | 3.9% | 3.2% | 3.5% | 3.2% |
| 2020-03-01 | 3.3% | 3.7% | 3.2% | 3.5% | 3.1% |
| 2020-06-01 | 2.9% | 8.7% | 6.6% | 6.7% | 4.9% |
| 2020-09-01 | 2.6% | 7.3% | 4.9% | 4.9% | 4.0% |
| 2020-12-01 | 2.8% | 8.6% | 4.9% | 5.0% | 4.0% |
| 2021-03-01 | 3.0% | 6.2% | 5.0% | 5.1% | 4.2% |
| 2021-06-01 | 3.6% | 3.4% | 2.2% | 2.8% | 3.4% |
| 2021-09-01 | 4.6% | 6.3% | 4.5% | 5.4% | 4.9% |
| 2021-12-01 | 4.9% | 5.5% | 5.2% | 6.4% | 5.7% |
| 2022-03-01 | 5.0% | 6.5% | 5.4% | 6.7% | 5.8% |
Notes: Our composition-adjusted average hourly earnings for all workers holds constant February 2020 industry mix by weighting by sector-level average weekly hours in the months that follow.
Source: EPI analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) Current Employment Statistics, Employment Cost Index, and Productivity and Costs public data series.
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